Posts Tagged "YouTube"
Infographic: 3 Questions Manufacturers Ask about Social Media (and Our Answers)
We get many queries from manufacturers about social marketing — mostly, why and how should I use it — so here are our answers to the most-popular questions manufacturers ask about social media.
Highlights:
- Facilitate networking opportunities, thought leadership, and prospect/client relationships.
- Consider using popular platforms like YouTube and Instagram to engage users and drive website traffic.
- Don’t use social media to push your products.
B2B operations have increasingly embraced social media as a strategic marketing tool. In fact, 9 out of 10 companies are active on at least one platform. But manufacturers, in particular, have been reticent to jump on the social media bandwagon.
If your manufacturing operation isn’t making use of social media as a tool to engage with your audience, you’re missing out on big lead generation potential. Manufacturers like the Dow Chemical Company, ArcelorMittal, and CAT Products are among those that have figured out how to harness the power of social media.
To help you launch or refine your efforts, we’ve put together the following answers to the most-popular questions manufacturers ask about social media.
Why should manufacturing companies be on social media?
There are three major reasons that manufacturing brands should be all over social media:
- Establish thought leadership
- Network within the industry
- Develop and sustain client relationships
Notice that none of these involve selling products. As with content marketing in general, good social media marketing isn’t about pushing your products.
The value of social media for manufacturers is in its potential to establish and expand thought leadership and to cultivate meaningful and fruitful relationships within your industry and among prospects and clients. Click To TweetTo make the most of social media as a marketing tool, abandon the idea that it’s about blatant sales pitches. Instead, approach it from the perspective that it’s an inherently social tool – that is, its value for manufacturers is in its potential to establish and expand thought leadership and to cultivate meaningful and fruitful relationships within your industry and among prospects and clients.
Which social media platforms should manufacturers be using?
Not all social media platforms are created equal. Each requires its own strategy, content format, and media. We recommend that manufacturers consider these five platforms:
1) Facebook
Facebook is an excellent place to share content with a wide segment of your audience, to promote engagement (through likes, comments, and shares), and to engage with peers and prospects. Not only that, the savviest marketers are using Facebook to understand their industry better – everything from strategies of peer brands to a fuller picture of your target buyer persona to the informational or product needs of your prospects.
2) Twitter
Twitter’s format is about brief, pithy content, used to engage with and inform your audience. This is an ideal place to let customers know what you’re planning next, to establish your corporate personality, and to let your audience in on a slice of your day-to-day operations and values.
3) YouTube
Video marketing for manufacturers is skyrocketing. With video being the most popular form of content online today, YouTube is an obvious choice for marketers. Whether it’s “how to” videos, footage of your operations, or interviews with subject-matter experts, your brand should be using YouTube to drive search traffic and educate prospects.
4) LinkedIn
B2B marketers unequivocally rank LinkedIn as the most effective network for lead generation, follower engagement, and traffic to their websites. An ideal place to engage with industry leaders, LinkedIn is also great for distributing content to a focused audience.
5) Instagram
The popularity of this highly visual platform has continued to skyrocket – it’s currently the second-most-used social media platform (up from fourth just two years ago). And believe it or not, this picture-based network is a powerhouse for B2B brands. We’ve written extensively about how brands can leverage Instagram and Instagram Stories. Suffice it to say, this is a perfect place to post your most engaging visual content and actively engage with followers.
How can manufacturers be effective on social media?
As with any content marketing effort, a well-thought-out social media strategy is a big part of success. As you create and begin to implement your strategy, start with these five tips.
1) Listen.
Before you post even a single piece of content, start by listening to your audience. In the days before social media, marketers had it much harder when it came to determining audience needs and preferences. Use these platforms to research your target prospects, as well as how competitors are engaging followers. Make note of the questions your target audience has, frustrations or challenges they express, and what types of content they engage with.
2) Focus on offering value.
You’d be surprised how many manufacturers neglect to place a premium on simply being useful with their social media content. It’s not complicated: If you post relevant, valuable content for your target audience, you’ll boost engagement, grow brand awareness, and generate and convert more leads.
3) You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you post.
One of the great things about social media is that it rewards not only content creation, but content curation. While you do want to be posting original content most of the time (experts recommend about 60%), a good chunk of your posting activity should include curating relevant content from third parties to share with your followers.
4) Be creative.
Separating yourself from your competitors can be a challenge, but it’s one worth striving toward. Start by asking yourself what makes your operation unique, what’s special about your process, what industry-leading expertise does your executive team have, what unusual perspective can you offer? Next, start breaking these four rules.
5) Learn from your successes and setbacks.
There are many tools out there to help you track the results of your social media efforts. Determine the right KPIs for your business and keep track of your results relentlessly. These metrics will allow you to study your impact and frequently tailor your strategy accordingly.
It’s time for manufacturers to fully embrace the marketing potential of social media. Whether you create and implement your own strategy, or decide to outsource your social media efforts, social media is a powerful set of tools that manufacturers should be harnessing.
Are there other questions manufactures ask about social media that we missed? Let me know in the comments.
Related posts:
- Top 3 Priorities for Manufacturing Companies in 2018
- The One Thing Manufacturing Marketers Must Do Now: Video Short
- Infographic: 4 Strategies for Supply Chain Marketers to Build a YouTube Audience
Posts Tagged "YouTube"
Infographic: 4 Strategies for Supply Chain Marketers to Build a YouTube Audience
If you’re trying to build a YouTube audience, you’ll need equal parts strategy, creativity, concision, and valuable subject matter.
Highlights:
- Strategy and creativity are top priorities.
- Keep content short and sweet for maximum impact.
- Offer value to your audience rather than a sales pitch.
An increasing percentage of search traffic is perusing YouTube for information, advice, and education. That makes the platform ideal for getting in front of prospects looking for products and services like yours.
But I’ve seen a lot of B2B marketers getting YouTube wrong. The good news is that the problem is usually that they’re trying too hard — and not in the right ways.
To effectively build a YouTube audience that will eventually become leads and, hopefully, customers, you need to be distributing video content that showcases your organization’s expertise in an approachable way. Here are some simple rules for how to go about that (without barking up the wrong tree).
4 ways to build a YouTube audience
1) Be disciplined about your content schedule.
When it comes to publishing content on social media, when you post is nearly as important as what you post. YouTube is no different. Creating and sticking to a consistent schedule for posting new content essentially trains your audience and lets them know when they can expect to hear more from you.
Creating video content consistently doesn’t need to feel like reinventing the wheel. First off, videos should be part of your content calendar in the same way as blog posts, case studies, and other forms of content. You don’t need to create brand new material for each video. Take a high-performing blog post and re-package the ideas into video content.
2) Get creative.
Creativity for B2B companies is all about striking the right balance between entertaining presentation and informative, high-quality content. Think about approaching the information you want to convey in a different way. Can you use a different medium (like animation) or interview two subject-matter experts together if your one-on-one interviews are feeling stale?
There are plenty of technologies available today that will help you create exciting, engaging video content relatively cheaply. Or you could always consider outsourcing your videography.
3) Keep it short.
While we’ve seen recent growth in long-form YouTube content, for most B2B marketing purposes, shorter videos are far more effective. Of course, this is good news in that producing shorter videos can be less time-consuming and costly. But I cannot emphasize enough the importance of quality over quantity here.
A 1- to 2-minute video of high-quality, well-edited content will get far more engagement (and be more successful in helping you build a YouTube audience) than 15 minutes of lecturing or poorly executed, complex animation. Click To TweetA 1- to 2-minute video of high-quality, well-edited content will get far more engagement (and be more successful in helping you build a YouTube audience) than 15 minutes of lecturing or poorly executed, complex animation. If you have a lot of footage about a certain subject, consider releasing a series of shorter videos.
4) Don’t make video a sales pitch.
Content marketing is inbound marketing, and video is no different. Countless studies have shown that increasingly buyers prefer informative, valuable content to blatant sales pitches.
This doesn’t mean that your content shouldn’t be branded, but it does mean that your focus in creation and execution needs to be what you can offer your audience, rather than you’re asking from them.
Use your video content to address specific concerns or answer questions that are relevant to your target audience. It’s simple: if you give something of value, you will build a YouTube audience that could eventually become your leads and customers.
What have you been doing to build a YouTube audience?
Related posts:
- 5 Ways to Improve Your YouTube Marketing Strategy
- Yes, Video Can Work for the Supply Chain
- Seven Ways to Get More Views on Your YouTube Videos
Posts Tagged "YouTube"
Facebook Integrating Messaging Platforms, LinkedIn Updates Recruiter Platforms, and More Social Media News February 2019
Also this month in social media news: YouTube has reached nearly 2 billion monthly users; Instagram is developing a feature to simplify multiple account management; and YouTube addresses “dislike mobs.”
Highlights:
- Social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are working to streamline their platforms.
- YouTube usage continues to grow, as the platform begins addressing dislike mobs.
- Good news for businesses: streamlined platforms mean less busy-work for marketers.
This month in social media news, we’re seeing multiple platforms working to integrate and streamline their services. Facebook is merging its messaging platforms, while Instagram (owned by Facebook) looks to simplify multiple account management. Additionally, a major part of LinkedIn’s upgrade to its recruitment tools involves integrating them into a single platform.
Social media usage continues to grow, and YouTube is no exception, announcing that it reached nearly two billion monthly users in the fourth quarter of 2018. The platform is also seeking to address one of the main concerns that users currently face: “dislike mobs.”
The developments this month are important for businesses to be watching. Facebook’s plans to integrate its messaging will no doubt mean changes to current chatbot options and possibly open up new opportunities for enhanced marketing automation. LinkedIn’s updated recruiter platforms are welcome news for businesses when it comes to identifying and hiring qualified candidates. And if Instagram’s developments pan out as anticipated, marketers will have an easier time managing multiple accounts.
Here’s your social media news for February 2019.
Facebook Is Integrating Its Messaging Platforms
Facebook has confirmed that it’s working toward integrating the three messaging platforms that it owns — Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp — with the aim of facilitating cross-platform communication. Integration would allow users to send messaging between apps, which would remain distinct. Not only will users be able to communicate seamlessly across multiple platforms, features and tools available on each platform will become available across all three apps.
Facebook has confirmed that it’s working toward integrating the three messaging platforms that it owns — Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp — with the aim of facilitating cross-platform communication. Click To TweetWhile the project has a long way to go, with changes not showing up for users until at least 2020, this is big news, and businesses should be keeping an eye on ongoing developments.
LinkedIn Updates Recruiter Platforms
LinkedIn announced this month a major upgrade to its recruitment tools, with the goal of streamlining hiring processes and matching more relevant candidates. From the announcement:
“Recruiters have told us they’re often frustrated by the need to jump from tool to tool. We’ve heard you. So we’ve put all of our core tools — Jobs, Recruiter, and Pipeline Builder — on a single platform. Once you create a project, you will be able to see the results from all your active sourcing channels — search results, job applicants, media leads — under the Talent Pool tab, and you can manage candidates from there.”
Additionally, LinkedIn will be adding new AI sorting tools, aiming to find better suited candidates for recruiters, using previous usage trends as well as platform data and learning from personal interests.
YouTube Reaches 2 Billion Monthly Users
Earlier this month, YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, announced in its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2018 Report that the video giant has more than 2 billion monthly users. Not only that, the number of channels with more than a million subscribers has almost doubled in 2018. Content creators on YouTube are also making more — the number of creators earning between $10K and $1 million from YouTube AdSense has grown more than 40% compared to a year earlier.
Instagram Is Developing an Account-Linking Feature to Simplify Multiple Account Management
After last month’s launch of a feature allowing users to post to multiple accounts with a single click, Instagram is pushing ahead with its efforts to streamline multiple-account management. It’s now developing a new option that will connect multiple accounts under a single login. The development, first reported by TechCrunch, will give Instagram users a variety of account-management options and allow marketers to cut down busy-work, like setting preferences for multiple accounts over and over.
YouTube Is Asking for Feedback in Addressing “Dislike Mobs”
YouTube is addressing the pernicious issue of so-called “dislike mobs” in a recent issue of Creator Insider, the video platform’s corporate series for creators. The company’s developers are considering multiple options, and while it does so, it is soliciting feedback from creators. Options so far discussed include methods for disabling the downvote button, allowing content creators to set preferences for whether ratings are publicly viewable, or requiring users to provide a reason for downvoting a video.
With its announcement that it is addressing the issue of dislike mobs, YouTube is demonstrating its commitment to content creators on its platform.
Related posts:
- Facebook Adds CTA Stickers for Page Stories, Twitter Plans New Conversational Features, and More Social Media News
- Facebook Announces 3Q Earnings, LinkedIn Offers New Integration Tools, and More Social Media News
- Instagram Founders Leave Facebook, LinkedIn Overhauls Groups, and More Social Media News
Posts Tagged "YouTube"
Facebook Adds CTA Stickers for Page Stories, Twitter Plans New Conversational Features, and More Social Media News
Also, this month in social media news: Instagram allows posts to multiple accounts; Snapchat shares research on social media use; and YouTube adds new swipe-to-view option.
Highlights
- Facebook and YouTube are making changes that reflect a shift toward the Stories format.
- Snapchat releases research revealing that users seek different types of content on different social media platforms.
- Twitter is considering a big update to its conversational features designed to boost user engagement.
The new year is off and running in the social media world. As social media platforms vie to keep up with user behavior, we’re seeing a broad industry shift in favor of the “Stories” format. Facebook is attempting to ramp up the popularity of its Stories feature by giving users more options for direct response, while YouTube is introducing a swipe option, reflecting the growing preference for this kind of interface.
Businesses should take heed to the changes this month. The opportunity for CTA stickers in Facebook Stories — as well as Twitter’s plans for new conversational features and Instagram’s introduction of a feature allowing users to post across accounts at the same time — have important implications for how B2B businesses market themselves on social media. Additionally, Snapchat has released the results of a study examining how and why people use various social media platforms.
Here’s your social media news for January 2019.
Facebook Adds Call-to-Action Stickers for Page Stories
As Facebook continues to work toward making its version of Stories a success, the social media titan is testing a new set of Call-to-Action (CTA) stickers for Pages. The stickers let businesses on Facebook use Stories more effectively via direct-response tools.
The new buttons echo the CTA options already available to Pages in their header. Options include inviting users to “Shop Now,” “Book,” or “Get Directions” directly from within Stories.
Why does this matter for B2B businesses? This new feature brings direct action to where Facebook is pushing users to spend more and more time — Stories.
Twitter Releases Detailed Plans for Beta Testing of New Conversational Features
Twitter is looking to evolve its platform in line with usage trends, announcing the creation of a new beta program to test its conversational options. According to TechCrunch, Twitter will soon launch the beta program with a select group of users. Features to be tested include color-coded responses, algorithmically sorted replies, and status updates.
If the beta testing is successful and Twitter adopts the changes, expect to see a big impact on platform use. For example, color-coded replies would corollate with your connections, making them easier to locate within extensive threads. Algorithm searching would also assist with keeping users up to date with the most personally relevant parts of any discussion — all with the goal of boosting engagement.
Instagram Now Lets You Post to Multiple Accounts at Once
Earlier this month, Social Media Today and TechCrunch reported that Instagram is rolling out a feature allowing users to post a single update across multiple profiles at the same time. For social media managers responsible for maintaining several accounts, this is big news.
Instagram is rolling out a feature allowing users to post a single update across multiple profiles at the same time. For social media managers responsible for maintaining several accounts, this is big news. Click To TweetIt’s now easy to post content to all accounts at once. But the question remains: is this good news for your audience? Of course, every case is different, but it’s yet to be determined if this ease of posting identical content across multiple platforms will broaden audience engagement or backfire, causing users to get bored and tune out your content all together.
Snapchat Shares New Research on How and Why People Use Different Social Media Platforms
Partnering with Murphy Research, Snapchat Business conducted a study of more than 1,000 of its users between the ages of 13 and 44. The goal was to gain insight into the social media apps they use, why they spend time on each, and how each makes them feel.
The research revealed three key insights:
- The apps people use can impact their moods.
- There’s a reason users tap on each app.
- And there’s a time and place for each app in this space.
What does this mean for B2B users? Being aware of the various platforms people use to find a specific type of content, for example, can help shape content creation and sharing.
YouTube Adds a New Option to Swipe to View the Next Video
As if it weren’t easy enough to fall down a YouTube rabbit hole. This month, the video giant is rolling out a new option that gives users the option to swipe left to view the next video or right to go back to the previous. Users can also get a “sneak peek” of the next or previous video by partially swiping. Currently, the update is only available to iOS users and is in line with a broader industry trend toward the swipeable Stories format.
Related posts:
- Facebook Announces 3Q Earnings, LinkedIn Offers New Integration Tools, and More Social Media News
- Instagram Founders Leave Facebook, LinkedIn Overhauls Groups, and More Social Media News
- New Survey Shows Facebook Users are Changing Their Habits, Snapchat Announces Webinars for Advertisers, and More Social Media News
Posts Tagged "YouTube"
Top 10 Social Media Posts 2018
Our most-viewed social media posts confirm there’s only one thing that stays the same with social platforms: they’re always changing.
Today, more than ever, companies are turning to social media to engage with customers and reach new audiences. But staying current with updates and new technologies is no easy task for marketers.
2018 was the year of video. From the soaring popularity of Insta Stories and Snapchat to the continued success of YouTube, users want to watch content (over reading it). In fact, video is the most popular form of content being consumed online today — and it shows no sign of slowing down.
From the soaring popularity of Insta Stories and Snapchat to the continued success of YouTube, users want to watch content (over reading it). In fact, video is the most popular form of content being consumed online today — and it shows… Click To TweetHere are the top 10 social media posts in 2018, including why (and how ) to start implementing video into your content marketing strategy.
Top 10 social media posts in 2018
1. 10 Social Media Statistics for B2B Marketers 2018
Social Media Examiner’s 10th annual study, 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, surveyed more than 5,700 marketers from across the world in a variety of industries — including manufacturing, industrial goods, and a variety of other B2B verticals. Here are some of the most relevant social media statistics from that survey for supply chain and logistics marketers. Read full post
2. An Example of Successful Social Media in Supply Chain Management
Sometimes, a success story can be a powerful motivator. FIFA and Adidas have been extremely successful in using social media in supply chain management. Here’s how it works for these organizations and why your business should consider it. Read full post
3. 10 Tips for Using Instagram for Business
Recent research on social media use shows that 66% of brands now use Instagram. It’s the second-most used platform by businesses, up from fourth in 2017. If you’re considering using Instagram for your business, which you should be, here are some tips for getting started. Read full post
4. Video: Social Media Trends for 2018
As always, good content will be as important as ever. With over one million new-data-producing social media users each day, high-quality content is the only way to stand out from the masses. But we also think you should pay attention to a few social media trends that we have highlighted in the following video. We’re certainly planning to adjust our strategy and those of our clients to consider these things. Read full post
5. 4 Things Your Business Should Do in Light of Facebook News Feed Changes
Mark Zuckerberg once again rocked the world on January 11 — at least for businesses — when he announced that Facebook News Feed was evolving to include less public content, meaning content from Pages of businesses, brands, and media. The algorithm now prioritizes posts from friends and family (over public posts) and those that “spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.” Here’s how you should change what you’re doing in response. Read full post
6. Infographic: Social Media Statistics Your Business Needs to Consider When Publishing Content
A strong social media presence is key to successful marketing in 2018. Social media is simply unavoidable these days. So, you jumped on board and you’re posting and tweeting. You’re creating content. You’re learning about search engine optimization and how to improve your rankings. But you’re still not reaching the audiences you were hoping to attract. What’s going wrong? Read full post
7. What Supply Chain and Logistics Marketers Need to Know About Organic Reach on Facebook
In a recent social media news post, we mentioned that Facebook was experimenting with an Explore Feed feature. You may or may not have heard about how this might affect businesses’ ability to achieve organic reach on Facebook. Read full post
8. Facebook Boosts Local News, Twitter Launches Sponsored Moments, and More Social Media News
Updates to the most popular sites have included longer character counts, more advanced conversational skills with chatbots, and new tools for easier sharing. All of these changes are working to improve user experience and help keep users active on the biggest sites. Read full post
9. Facebook Updates News Feed, Instagram Allows User to Send Live Videos, and More Social Media News
I’m sure by now you have heard about the updates to Facebook’s News Feed that are having major impacts on business pages’ organic reach. But the changes don’t stop there. Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram are trying to follow Facebook’s lead and enhance their user experience. Through updates that include video counts, enhanced data collection, and recommended posts, social media is working overtime to make sure its active users are staying active. Read full post
10. 5 Ways to Improve Your YouTube Marketing Strategy
I’ve written a lot about YouTube and how the supply chain should be leveraging it as a marketing tool. Of course, I don’t recommend just creating videos at random and throwing them up on your channel. Like any content or platform, you should approach YouTube strategically. Read full post
Related posts:
- Social Selling: How Sales Teams Can Close More Deals with Social Media
- The Top 3 Social Media Mistakes Companies Still Make
- Top 10 Social Media Posts of 2017
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